Radian6 Review: Great for Brands, Not for Agencies

During my initial endeavor into researching social media monitoring tools, Radian6 was intentionally left out. Why, you ask? Once upon a time, DragonSearch used Radian6 for a client and—as a whole—we were dissatisfied with the navigation and user interface. However, I’ve received quite a few requests to review Radian6 from my peers, so I decided to give the company another shot.

Salesforce’s Radian6 is a social media behemoth and arguably one of the most recognizable names in terms of monitoring tools. In other words, Radian6 has street cred. But can it stand up to DragonSearch’s excruciating list of demands? Read on to find out!

A Lot to Offer from Social Media Monitoring Tool Radian6

To put this in perspective, I reviewed a number of Radian6’s competitors—including Brandwatch and Sysomos. At this point, I have a lot to measure Radian6 against. To address my first qualm, Radian6 has updated its user interface since my last experience. Now, the tool uses widgets to sort data in an extremely flexible dashboard. UPGRADE!

With the basic features covered, Radian6 impressed me with their engagement console. It offers a complete, separate system to manage workflow on team responses to social media mentions. In addition, responses from your company’s internal team can be held for approval to ensure ubiquitous messaging and exceptional social media customer service. From a brand perspective, Radian6 has a lot to offer in terms of community management. Not to mention, their Salesforce integration is ideal for customer relationship management. If you are an ecommerce site, Radian6 is highly recommended.

The last thing that caught my attention about Radian6 is the influencer identification feature. The tool allows you to track influencer by metrics (engagement, following) as well as social networks (Twitter, Facebook, etc.). If your social strategy includes influencer outreach (which it probably should), Radian6 is a great tool to implement. Throw in an iPhone app and a slew of insight add-ons, and Radian6 packs quite a punch.

Radian6 Isn’t the Social Media Monitoring Tool Holy Grail

Did Radian6 regain my adoration with their listless features and updated usability? Of course. Do they meet Holy Grail criteria? Sadly, no. First things first, Radian6 pricing—even on the agency level—is not quite intended for agencies. Radian6 is great if you plan on using the tool for single clients; however, it should not be used as a digital marketing firm’s only tool. The capabilities and pricing simply do not support that.

Another thing to note is that Radian6 offers an extensive list of add-ons—all at an extra charge. The open API has allowed many systems to integrate with Radian6; however, the charge for each of these tools is separate from Radian6 pricing. If you need a lot of add-ons—such as Salesforce or Peak Analytics—the tab can accumulate pretty quickly.

Another gripe, albeit minor, is Radian6’s multilingual abilities. Unlike most comparable tools on the market, Radian6 is available in only 17 languages. To put this in perspective, Meltwater Buzz is available in 27 and Alerti is available in 40. Also, translation is not available in Radian6. For international monitoring, brands should be cognizant of globally applicable features.

Who Should Use Radian6 from Salesforce and Why?

Radian6 is great for monitoring, reporting and responding on behalf of brands and agencies that only require a tool for a handful of clients. For a boutique marketing agency like DragonSearch—or agencies that work with clients of all sizes and budgets—Radian6 is not ideal. The price structure is as such:

Agency pricing, 30-day commitment:

$950/month: 1 million mentions, 500 users

Brands, 1-year commitment:

$600/month: 1 topic profile, 10,000 mentions

$1,800/month: 4 topic profiles, 100,000 mentions

$4,100/month: 10 topic profiles, 250,000 mentions

$10,000/month: 20 topic profiles, 2.5 million mentions

If you are interested in signing up for Radian6, Account Executive Tanya Kinney was very helpful in walking me through the features and a demo of the tool. You can reach Tanya by phone at 506-631-7363 or via email at Tanya.kinney@radian6.com.